This report discusses new and original research on high-achiveing students from low-income families. Our findings come from three federal databases that during the past 20 years have tracked students in elementary and high school, college, and graduate school. The principal findings this report presents are important for policymakers, educators, business leaders, the media, and civic leaders to understand and explore as schools, communities, states, and the nation consider ways to ensure that all children succeed.

The first of Civic Enterprises' reports, The Silent Epidemic, gives voice to the students throughout the nation who have dropped out of high school and why they decided to make this life-altering choice. The central message of this report is that while some students drop out because of significant academic challenges, most dropouts are students who could have, and believe they could have, succeeded in school. This survey of young people who left high school without graduating suggests that, despite career aspirations that require education beyond high school and a majority having grades of a C or better, circumstances in students' lives and an inadequate response to those circumstances from the schools led to dropping out. While reasons vary, the general categories remain the same, whether in inner city Los Angeles or suburban Nebraska.